JEDDAH: Social, verbal and economic abuse of women is more widespread in Saudi society than physical and sexual abuse, according to a recent study on violence against women.
The study, which was conducted by Khaled Al-Radihan, 51, an assistant professor of anthropology at King Saud University in Riyadh, involved 267 women.
In his questionnaire, Al-Radihan classified violence into eight categories — physical, verbal, sexual, social, psychological, health-related, economic and violence in the form of negligence and deprivation — and gave examples illustrating each type of violence.
“In my research, I categorized the 267 women into married and single. Results showed that married women are abused mainly by their husbands; single women are abused by their male siblings more frequently than their fathers,” Al-Radihan told Arab News.
Al-Radihan said that economic abuse is when the husband forcefully takes his wife’s money or when he applies for a bank loan under her name without her consent. The results of his research showed that 67 percent of women suffer from economic abuse.
“Economically abusing a woman also includes depriving her of her inheritance, which is very common here,” he added.
But why are Saudi women subject to all this abuse? Many reasons lead to violence against women. She could be really stubborn and difficult to deal with, she might have unbearable financial demands and she might not obey her male guardian, said Al-Radihan.
“The majority of men who abuse their women violently do so because of ‘male honor and female fidelity’. Female infidelity damages a man’s reputation which he believes can be partially restored through the use of violence,” he added.
Because male honor often requires female deference and fidelity, relationships between men and women can carry an underlying tension that can serve as a precursor or catalyst to domestic violence, he said, adding that honor may be used as a justification for violence. Within this cultural framework, male violence against women may be seen as necessary and proper to preserve the integrity of the man and the family.
Moreover, women are subjected to violence because of a lack of solid safeguards, the study noted. It is difficult for victims to reach out for help because of the bureaucracy of security organizations, let alone the unavailability of family guidance centers.
“It’s still a taboo for women to talk about these issues to people outside their family. We need to spread awareness among these women and educate them about their rights. We need to provide enough support and assistance while maintaining confidentiality to encourage women to seek help when they need it,” added Al-Radihan.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), gender-based violence, or violence against women (VAW), is a major public health and human rights problem throughout the world. VAW has profound implications for health but is often ignored. WHO’s World Report on Violence and Health notes, “One of the most common forms of VAW is that performed by a husband or male partner.”
This type of violence is frequently invisible since it happens behind closed doors, and, effectively, when legal systems and cultural norms do not treat as a crime, but rather as a “private” family matter, or a normal part of life.
